If you are in full time third level education and are a Senior rider (over 18), taking out a competition licence you qualify for a 50% discount.

The best way to apply for this is through your club secretary (if you are in a club), give them 50% of the fee, a copy of your current card, or letter from the University, and they will submit the fee to us.

Alternatively you can send your application form to us manually with a cheque for the 50%  fee. However, you must ensure that the form has the club secretary's signature on it, as it will be returned if not.

Finally, if you want to pay online for your licence, you can pay the full amount and send us an email listing the following:
Your Name
Your Club
Your Licence Number
Your Home Address
Your Phone Number

Attach to the email the relevant documents that confirm that you are a full-time third level student.

Introductory Licence
If you have never been a member of Cycling Ireland, and are not interested in racing you can select an "Introductory" licence for €15. This covers you while you are out training, on club spins, and while participating in leisure tours.

Non Competition Licence
This is a leisure licence, and it covers you while you are out training, on club spins, and while participating in leisure tours. This is available to existing Cycling Ireland members, so if you got an introductory licence last year, when you renew you get this licence for the same options. The fee is €25 if you are based in Connacht, Leinster or Munster, and is €35 if you are based in Ulster.

Club Competition Licence
This licence is €60 if you are in a club, and €90 if you are not in a club. If you are from Ulster, there is a further €10 charge. This licence allows you to race in club leagues in road racing, but not in Open Races.

Restricted Licences
You have the option of getting a restricted licence if you want to race unlimited domestically in one discipline. This licence is €90 if you are in a club and €120 if you are not in a club. There is a further €10 charge if you are from Ulster. Once you select a restricted licence you must select a category. The choices are "Time Trial", "Track", "BMX", "Bicycle Polo", and "Off Road".
If you select "Off Road" you must select the type of licence you need depending on your standard. If you are unsure as to which type you need you are best off asking a member of the club for advice. The types are: elite; expert (intermediate level); masters (age 30-39); senior/sport (usually novice/beginner level); veteran (age over 40).

Full Competition Licence
This licence costs €125 if you are in a club, and €155 if you are not in a club. There is a further €10 charge if you are from Ulster. This licence qualifies you for racing in any discipline (include offroad, bmx, TT etc) in Ireland. If you want to race overseas you can get overseas authorisation for an extra €20, and submit/upload a photo ID electronically. If you want to race on the road in open races, this is the type of licence you want. The categories you can select from are based on your ability, the highest being A+, which is reserved for those road riders who are on pro-teams (with the exception of female pro riders). A1 is the next highest category, then A2, the majority of the members are either A3 or A4 riders, with the A4 category being reserved for new members, and weaker/less experienced riders. The distances vary depending on the category.

Junior
At the 2011 AGM it was decided that the Junior Category would be a stand alone category. Where there is an A3 race is part of a promotion the Juniors would race with the A3s.

Women, Vets:
In previous years there were separate categories for Juniors, Women and Vets, but due to the varying speeds and abilities of riders within these categories, this old system has been replaced with the new grading system. Now riders are racing against riders of similar speeds. At the National Championships there is still a separate race for Juniors, Women and Vets. The Women's Commission also run a programme of races for women only, for those of you not ready yet to race in big bunches.

Insurance, events, camaraderie and learning:

Cycling is one of the fastest growing and most popular sports right now. By joining Cycling Ireland you are joining a community where not only will you be insured while you cycle, you can enjoy the social and physical benefits of the sport.  

INSURANCE: you will be covered for personal injury, and third party damage/liability. This cover extends to training, and events (See "What kind of licence am I looking for" for details of the events covered under each licence). See our FAQ for insurance HERE

Bike Insurance: You can purchase Bike Insurance from our insurance brokers O'Driscoll O'Neill by clicking on the following link: www.odon.ie/index.php/cycling

PHYSICAL: Cycling is a non weight bearing sport, which means it is easy on the joints, and recommended by many specialists as a good sport for rehabilitation of injury or sickness while improving your overall well being.

EDUCATIONAL: Cycling Ireland encourages learning and development in its members, and runs a series of Coaching Qualifications. In 2011 we signed a contract with British Cycling which will further the range of services and training that we can offer our coaches. For all details see our coaching section on the website HERE

SOCIAL:

Events: once you become a member of Cycling Ireland you will get a yearbook, which has, among other information, a calendar of events for road racing, off road racing, and leisure tours. Throughout the year the weekends are full of events in which you can participate.

Clubs: Our clubs are one of our greatest assets in Cycling Ireland. While you don't have to be a member of a club to join Cycling Ireland, we recommend you join one, as it is in the clubs, through our members, that you will learn vital skills and training methods to help you improve as a cyclist.

Newsletter: Back in 2009 "Braking News" was a quarterly newsletter that we posted to our members, keeping them up-to-date with what was going on. In 2011 Braking News went online, and our Ezine is now circulated to all Cycling Ireland members.

Cycling Ireland is the National Governing Body for the sport of Cycling on the island Ireland affiliated to the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI).

Register Now
Go the top left hand side of our website and hit "Register Now!".
On the next screen you select to either register in a club, or without.
Follow the instructions.

You will then get an email asking you to confirm that your email is correct.

Once your details have been verified by Cycling Ireland you will get an email sent to your email address, this will have your password.

Signing into your profile
At the top of our home page you will see a button saying "log in".
When you hit this you will see the log in section.
Enter your email address as your user name, and the password that you have received.
This will bring you into your profile.
You will be advised to request a licence type. Select the licence you need by filling in the details required.

Once you have submitted this request you will be advised that you are awaiting club approval.

Awaiting Club Approval
Contact your club secretary and ask them to approve you licence.
Once they have approved you licence, Cycling Ireland will approve the request.
Once we approve your request, you will be able to pay online.

Paying online
To pay you must log into your profile
Under the title "Licence and Licence History" you will have the option to pay
Hit the last word on the line with your licence "pay".
You will be brought to the credit card payment screen.
You will receive your licence within two weeks of payment.

Note that during our busiest season (Nov - April) this may take longer to process.
If you have questions please approach your club secretary before approaching Cycling Ireland.

Three club officials in every club have access to all the members in their club. When that official logs into their profile (with their email address and password in the log in section) they can add, renew and edit members. They can also renew the club membership here. 
To view the club members go to "members" in the black tab, here you can view, edit, renew and manage your members. Under "profile" and "club management" you can renew your club affiliation. Please ensure you contact the office info@cyclingireland.ie if there is a change in roles in your club committee.

When you are registering your club in Connacht, Leinster or Munster you will have to pay a Provincial fee. This is broken down as follows:
Connacht - €140
Leinster - €130
Munster - €130

These fees have been set by the Provincial Committees, and the purpose is to use the money for development. If you are querying the breakdown of this fee in your particular Province you can either contact the Provincial Secretary (details in the annual yearbook that every rider gets), or you can attend the Provincial AGM which takes place usually in October.

In Ulster the Provincial fee is not placed on the clubs, but on the riders, where every rider, except for introductory members and Under 18 year olds, pay an extra €10 on their licence.

Contact Cycling Ireland info@cyclingireland.ie and request a club starter pack. Note that you need a minimum of 6 members to start a club, and three positions most be filled: chairperson, secretary and treasurer.

The most common reason for an existing member having trouble logging in is that we do not have a registered email address for them. In this instance you must contact your club secretary to reset your password. 

If you are not in a cycling club contact Cycling Ireland to reset your password. Cycling Ireland is info@cyclingireland.ie  

If you want to process a licence quickly, the only way to do this is by applying online, and contacting your club to hurry up your application. Once you pay online your licence number appears on your profile, you should print this screen and present it to the race organiser on the day.

If you have filled out an application form at an event or for a club, the first step towards membership is satisfied. However, until you have received a licence number from Cycling Ireland (check in your profile online), you are not insured in the next competition. 

Once you fill in your forms and pay the money you need to ensure that before your next competition/event your club secretary/race organiser forwards your Cycling Ireland fee, and any relevant ID/parental consent form to Cycling Ireland.
 
If your licence number is not appearing on your profile within 3 days of the event you should contact the club secretary/event organiser, and establish the status of your application. Cycling Ireland accepts electronic ID and parental/guardian signatures.

You must be able to quote your licence number at the event, or present a print screen of your profile with your licence number to confirm that we have received the fee/ID and all is in order. 

In the log in section you will see the option to request a password saying "Forgot Password". If after clicking on this button your password has not been sent to your email address (make sure you also check your junkmail) you can contact your club secretary or Cycling Ireland at info@cyclingireland.ie

If the points in rider rankings does not reflect the points that you received in a particular race you need to contact Patrick Withers, the Grading Officer, at grading@cyclingireland.ie.

Please note that it may take up to a week for the points to be applied to your account.

If you want to transfer to another club, or indeed leave your club to go unattached, you need to get a letter of release from your club secretary. You also need to get a letter of approval or acceptance from your new club secretary. All this can be done by email.
Basically you get your old club secretary to email us at info@cyclingireland.ie approving your transfer out of the club, and get your new club secretary to email us to confirm that you can move to the club.
This can be done relatively quickly, but a transfer cannot be approved without notification from the club secretaries.

In the case of a club not releasing the member, if an objection has not been registered from the club within 21 days, then the person automatically can be transferred out of the club.

In the case of an objection please see the following from the Technical Rules & Regulations:

4. However within the 21 days referred to in rule G3.3 above, the club may object on the grounds of either
    (a) the person has a provable undischarged liability or
    (b) was in breach of either club or Cycling Ireland rules.
   Notwithstanding point (a) above, a ‘Minor’ will not be held responsible for an undischarged liability.
5. Such objections must be sent to the person by registered letter, and copied to Cycling Ireland and the
    Provincial Secretary referred to in rule G3.2 above.
6. In the case of an objection, it will be the responsibility of the Provincial Executive to ensure that the
    objection is thoroughly investigated and resolved in accordance with AG.1, within a period of 21 days
    from receipt of the letter referred to in rule G3.5 above.

The months October - June are our busiest in the office, as it is licence processing time. There are restricted phone hours (11am - 1pm and 2pm - 4pm). While you have the option to leave a voice message, the most guaranteed method of getting a reply is via email. This will be replied to as soon as possible. If you are a member of a club, you should approach your club secretary first, as they usually have the answer to your query, and access to your online profile.

The most visible discipline is road cycling, but there are plenty more ways you can ride your bike!

Road Cycling: This type of cycling is done on regular roads, and the type of bike used is a road bike, or racer, that's the one with the handle bars that curve down. This cycling is most commonly associated with big races like the Tour de France, and our most popular cycling super heroes - Sean Kelly and Stephen Roche. Kelly and Roche (after whom our office is named!) were top international riders in the 1980s. Road cycling is not exclusive to racing, as the leisure tours, and mass participation challenges have become hughely popular over the last few years. Audax cycling is a branch of road cycling, which is a long distance cycle or race that is usually several hundred miles in duration - not for the faint hearted!

Off Road Cycling, or MTB: This type of cycling is done off the beaten track, and is popular with the more adventurous rider. There are many races and events organised by the off road commission throughout the year, with events in Cross Country Mountain Biking, Downhill Mountain Biking and Cyclo Cross being the most popular. BMXing is making a comeback lately also. A recent venue opened in Ratoath will hopefully bring back a surge in BMX riders.

Track Cycling: Over the past few years track cycling has become very popular, and it is mainly associated with the Olympics. A track bike has no gears and no brakes, and the races tend to be short and powerful. While Ireland does not yet have an indoor velodrome, we have two outdoor tracks (Sundrive in Dublin and Orangefield in Belfast), where bikes can be hired, and race programmes are in place throughout the summer. This is a very exciting type of cycling, and is very popular with the young, and the young at heart.

Time Trials: A Time Trial is a race against the clock. The bike is similar to a road bike, but has "tri bars" (which look like two horns) coming out of the handle bars. The rider can get into an aerodynamical position and power their way through a course as fast as they can. This type of riding is often an introduction to cycle racing for athletes who are a bit nervous about racing in a bunch, but want to go fast, it's a true test of strength and endurance, a race between you and the clock.

Artistic Cycling or Indoor Cycling: This is like a mix between cycling and gymnastic, where riders perform the most amazing tricks on bikes in gyms. This is popular in Germany and Holland.

Bicycle Polo: We now have our first bicycle polo club, it does what it says on the tin - ride a bicycle, and play polo... not water polo, regular polo. The club bases itself in the Phoenix Park - contact us for more info.

We expect all Cycling Ireland members to obey the rules of the road. Please become familiar with the rules, and follow them at all times. RULES_OF_THE_ROAD also basic rules: HERE

The insurance policy FAQ can be found HERE

Your UCI category is the category under which you race if you are racing internationally.

If you are between 18 and 23 then you are automatically an espoir.

If you are over 30 and intend racing in the European or World Masters Championships, you need to select "Masters".

All other people should select "Elite".

Cycling Ireland membership runs for the calendar year. This means that no matter when you register and pay for your licence, it expires on the 31st December.

The only exception to this is if you renew your licence in mid November, after the registration for the following year has opened.

If you are a club official and want to renew your club fees note that the cheapest time to renew the club affiliation is before December 31st, when the Cycling Ireland fee is €150, this raises by €50 for subsequent months.

The Child Protection Officer is a Safeguarding Officer who is familiar with the Code of Ethics, which are a set of guidelines outlined to protect our coaches, riders, children and vulnerable people. The Child Protection Officer should attend a Code of Ethics Course at some point during the year, where they will be educated on various matter.

The Irish Sports Council have requested that all the clubs have a Child Protection Officer, regardless of whether or not the club has youths, as all clubs should have an inclusive policy in the interest of sport.

Cycling Ireland recently published our Code of Ethics Manual: HERE

The Irish Sports Council Code of Ethics Manual can be found: HERE

Our National Child Protection Officer is Orla Hendron - you can contact here here: orlahendron@hotmail.com